Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen left the company in 1983 after being diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease. He has recently made comments about Windows 8 and believes that people will eventually learn to like the OS. However, he recently stated that Windows 8 was "puzzling" and "confusing initially." Allen made comments on a post this week made on his personal blog.

Allen says that he has been running Windows 8 Release Preview, which shipped back in May, on his desktop and on a Samsung 700T. That is the tablet that Microsoft is been handing out to developers, analysts, and some members of the press to get them to try out Windows 8.

"The bimodal user experience can introduce confusion, especially when two versions of the same application -- such as Internet Explorer -- can be opened and run simultaneously," Allen said.

The two user interfaces that Allen is talking about are the Windows 8 style, previously called Metro, offering a minimalist look and the classic view that looks like a slightly modified Windows 7 desktop. Allen also criticized some of the changes to the operating system that have been voiced by other users as well.

"Strangely, there is no way to set the desktop as your default view (there should be)," Allen wrote. "This is one of the single biggest changes in Windows 8: the lack of the familiar Start menu."

"I found myself wishing that a Power tile was available on the Start screen to make these commands more accessible," Allen continued.

Ultimately, Allen says that even with the quirks of the new operating system that Windows 8 would be manageable by users. He also believes that Microsoft will address any issues with its next release. Some of the issues Allen mentions are reasons beleived to be contributing to the slow adoption of early versions of Windows 8.

You read a little too much into what he said. Also, the original desktop works exactly like it always has. I can have as many programs open as once as I'd like, which I do all the time on this very computer I'm posting this from. What the person you're responding to is saying that when you're in the process of launching another application you don't need to see those other programs. When you're going to launch Excel you don't need to see SAP. Once it's running then you want access to both, which works just fine.

For those reasons I don't see Metro replacing the traditional desktop, merely augmenting it. SAP may have an App written for Metro that will be useful on tablets and phones, but not something you're likely to use on your desktop at work. And there are so many programs that are in the same situation it's not even funny. Including Dynamics, Great Plains and Office. They may have Metro counterparts, the way IE does, but the original will stay in Desktop land.

Why is that so hard to understand? Everything else about Windows 8, Group Policy, Windows to Go, Bitlocker, VHD boot, Hyper V are all benefits to business. You think a slight change from a start menu to a start screen is a deal breaker?

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